Ronda Rousey: Bethe Correia 'could be a very interesting fight for me'

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Ronda Rousey: Bethe Correia 'could be a very interesting fight for me'

Undefeated Brazilian contender Bethe Correia took a very public swipe at UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and her “Four Horsewomen” crew. The champ noticed, and she’s already considering a potential meeting.

“It’s smart,” Rousey said of Correia’s post-UFC 172 actions. “That’s what they needed to do. … The girls are f–king taking a cue by getting people interested.”

Correia (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) beat Jessamyn Duke (3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at this past weekend’s UFC 172 event in Baltimore. Duke, who along with Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Marina Shafir are part of the self-dubbed “Four Horsewomen” crew, was flat for most of the contest and suffered a lackluster decision loss. Afterward, Correia held up four fingers and then dropped one to signify her plan of downing all four friends.

Shafir is a 145-pound fighter and is not currently part of the UFC roster, so Rousey said Baszler immediately volunteered to go next.

“Shayna called this girl out, and I think Shayna is going to be fighting her next,” Rousey said while a co-host on this week’s “The Fighter & The Kid” podcast.

Rousey (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who joked that Correia’s efforts provided a “perfect WWE storyline,” said she feels confident Baszler (15-8 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will be able to halt the undefeated Brazilian’s plans. But if for some reason, Baszler comes up short, Rousey believes it might make sense for Correia to take the fast track to a UFC title shot.

“This chick is undefeated,” Rousey said. “She’s fighting Shayna, so Shayna’s UFC debut is either going to be a huge win for Shayna or this girl is going to be still undefeated, and I’m going to have a huge title fight because this girl is going to have fought both of my girls and is coming after me.

“That’s a storyline. That’s Shayna’s storyline right now. And either she beats [Correia] and moves on and has a bigger name, or it moves on to be my storyline.”

First, of course, Rousey has Alexis Davis (16-5 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on tap at UFC 175 this July, a fight in which the champ will likely be a sizable favorite. And if the Baszler-Correia matchup does come together, “The Queen of Spades” could put an end to the rivalry, as well.

But if “the perfect WWE storyline” plays out just right, Rousey looks forward to welcoming “Pitbull” to the octagon.

“I think Shayna can f—ing handle it and will shove this s–t in this girl’s face, but there’s no lose in this situation,” Rousey said. “It’s a huge win for Shayna, or it’s a huge setup for a fight.

“If Miesha Tate can get a title shot and she hadn’t even won a single match in the UFC, this chick who’s undefeated and beat two of my friends could be a very interesting fight for me.”